Digital Democracy is Inevitable

Over 75% of Australians say they are likely to use an online voting platform.

Australians are overwhelmingly supportive of the idea of online voting according to new Roy Morgan research*.

This is good news for MiVote, which launched V1.0 of its new voting platform in Australia this week at vote.mivote.org.au.

Speaking on Triple J Hack last Monday, MiVote founder Adam Jacoby explained “The shift is inevitable. We will be making decisions as a community in an entirely different way in the coming years.”

MiVote is a democratic movement 5 years in the making, that is using a blockchain-enabled app to give everyone an informed and equal vote. The app is underpinned by a world-leading governance model that ensures broad and genuine engagement across all communities, before legislation is written, not after.

“Anyone can build a voting app, and it’s clear that Australians are overwhelmingly ready to participate in democracy this way.” says Jacoby. “What sets MiVote apart are the frameworks and processes underpinning the app that ensure everyone has an equal voice and that everyone’s voice can be heard, which is crucial for true democracy.”

The claim is supported by the global media attention the MiVote model has generated, including articles in Fast Company and the Guardian.V1.0 of the web app is available at vote.mivote.org.au and the first vote is open now. The app will soon be released in the app store and Google Play and will continue to be developed through frequent iterations.

Explainer: How Does MiVote Work?

True democracy means enacting the informed will of the people.

MiVote members are presented with information packets outlining different approaches to a given issue through the app, and then asked to support as many or few of those approaches as they can live with. The approach with a majority vote above 60% forms MiVote’s position on that issue.

MiVote will register as a political party before the next federal election and run candidates for the Senate. MiVote Senators are bound by the movement’s constitution to represent the majority position, voted by MiVote members through the app, in parliament.

Source:

* New research from Roy Morgan (Roy Morgan Research Online Omnibus 2nd-7th February 2017, national sample n=1170.)

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